Fast-Food Employee Denied Health Coverage

Too many employees are denied the coverage they deserve from their employers for injuries received on the job, and employees in the fast-food industry seem to get some of the worst treatment in regards to coverage and compensation.

A Sonic Drive-In worker from Texas had been working for the restaurant for two and a half years when it was one day robbed by two men, according to an article from ABC News. During the robbery, the employee’s leg was broken.

The robber shut the employee’s leg in a door to keep him from making a move to protect a fellow co-worker. The injury happened while he was on the clock. The employee’s broken femur may require surgery.

Sonic has opted out of the state worker’s comp plan, leaving the uninsured employee to deal with his injury without any monetary assistance at all.

What is Sonic’s reason for opting out of caring for their injured worker? He failed a mandatory drug screen that took place shortly after the robbery. The worker had smoked marijuana a few days before the incident.

But, he was not under the influence of any drugs when the incident happened and he did not have any part in the planning of the robbery. The employee claims he has not heard from the company since the first week after the robbery and has retained an attorney to deal with the issue.

Sonic’s public relations department claims that the franchisee restaurant the injured employee worked for has been reaching out to offer to pay the medical bills, but that their calls have not been returned by the employee.

Only time will reveal the outcome of this particular case, but incidents like this happen all too often between employees and employers all across the country in plenty of different companies and career fields.

Fast-food workers can sometimes get the short end of the stick when it comes to compensation and coverage provided by their employers. The fast-food industry is a fast-paced industry where workers are commonly viewed as dispensable and replaceable, so employers may be reluctant to provide proper coverage.

If you feel you have been cheated out of workers’ compensation for an injury that happened on the job, you should get legal representation as soon as possible.